Angelica Bergamini, Gianluca Bianchino, Diana González Gandolfi
Among the artists featured in the Calandra Institute’s exhibit A Legacy of Making are immigrants born and raised in Italy and Argentina. Their inclusion alters and expands our understanding of who constitutes “Italian Americans.” How do these artists’ transnational experiences and statuses inform their work and their position within the art world? Three artists will dialogue about their individual and artist journeys as part of the exhibit’s final public presentation.
A Conversation about Identity and Art: John Avelluto, Joanne Mattera, Timothy McDowell, Sheila Pepe
Identity politics has become an increasingly significant aspect of the art world. This shift signaled, to a large degree, interventionist critiques by artists of color of an art scene and market dominated by straight, white men with a definitive Western perspective. Given this context, what does it mean to consider ethnic identity—italianità—when discussing US-based artists of Italian heritage? What are the benefits and limitations of organizing an exhibit featuring “21 Italian American artists” at an Italian American venue like the Calandra Institute? Join us for a conversation about cultural identity and art and other related topics.
Curated by Joanne Mattera and Joseph Sciorra
Exhibition opening takes place on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 6pm.
The work of the twenty-one artists featured in this exhibit offers a richness of form, medium, subject matter, color, and style that is a delight and a revelation to behold. Connections to a discernable Italian art tradition—or for that matter to Italian American aesthetic practices more specifically—vary across the exhibition, ranging from the explicit to the suggestive to the nonexistent.
After the opening on September 27, the exhibition will be accessible during business hours, 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday, and is located in the Galleria of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.
Detail of Due Facc’, by John Avelluto, 2020
Curated by Joanne Mattera and Joseph Sciorra
Exhibition opening takes place on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 6pm.
The work of the twenty-one artists featured in this exhibit offers a richness of form, medium, subject matter, color, and style that is a delight and a revelation to behold. Connections to a discernable Italian art tradition—or for that matter to Italian American aesthetic practices more specifically—vary across the exhibition, ranging from the explicit to the suggestive to the nonexistent.
After the opening on September 27, the exhibition will be accessible during business hours, 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Friday, and is located in the Galleria of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute.
Image: Claudia DeMonte, Il Corno, 2013
